2015 MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship Day 1b: Steven Williams Grabs the Lead
Steven Williams finished Day 1b atop the pack in the 2015 Mid-States Poker Tour FireKeepers Casino Main Event as a 2-1 chip leader over his next closest opponent. Not only that, but his stack of 400,500 also puts him around 90,000 better than the top stack from Day 1a's flight.
The man in second place that Williams doubled up on Day 1b was Dan Laduke with his finishing stack of 201,000 in chips.
Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Williams | 400,500 |
| 2 | Dan Laduke | 201,000 |
| 3 | David Mclaughlin | 184,500 |
| 4 | Phillip Wojtuniecki | 173,500 |
| 5 | Andrew Korby | 155,000 |
| 6 | Dylan Thomassie | 152,500 |
| 7 | Andrew Peplinski | 145,000 |
| 8 | Gus Vergos | 143,000 |
| 9 | Ron Nussbaum | 137,000 |
| T-10 | Patrick Steele | 134,500 |
| T-10 | Mike Deis | 134,500 |
In all, 44 more players are set for Day 2, including former MSPT FireKeepers champ Ryan Dykhouse (38,500). The last two MSPT Player of the Year winners, Mike Deis and Patrick Steele, also punched their tickets to Day 2, bagging up the exact same stack of 134,500.
Others to advance from Day 1b were Jake Baumgartner (86,000), Chris Moon (70,000), Jordan Johnson (64,500), and Jason Zarlenga (14,500).
There were a total of 213 entries for Day 1b, with some of them familiar faces from yesterday as they busted out and opted to reenter. There was also a turbo satellite on Friday night in the hopes of pushing this MSPT FireKeeper's Main Event over the current record of 614 total entries, set in May.
Poker won't be the only thing on the minds of players this weekend, either. As this event is deemed the Michigan State Poker Championship, many players are excited for the big Michigan State versus Michigan college football matchup that takes place on Saturday at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. The staff has made accommodations so that the players will be able to watch the game while playing, and that should only get the blood pumping even more.
There's still one more starting day to go, and that's Day 1c that takes place on Saturday at 12 p.m. local time. Be sure to return right here to PokerNews for continued coverage.
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